Bloodborne pathogens guidelines have been created to reduce and eliminate the risks of transmitting infectious diseases through the blood or body fluids of other individuals. The most common diseases to contract when in contact with these fluids are HBV and HIV (associated with AIDS). That is why it is recommended for cleaning workers to follow the universal precautionary protocol, which was originally created by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for which OSHA created a Bloodborne Standard. It was initially created for health workers and hospital workers, but it was expanded for all those occupations that are reasonably exposed to blood or other infectious materials such as cleaning workers in general. Without them, risks of these pathogens infecting others would be higher.

Proper cleaning reduces risk of the diseases previously mentioned. Therefore, it is extremely important for cleaning workers to have knowledge of these guidelines in order to apply them correctly during the cleaning of any fluid, thus avoiding contracting any disease and avoid spreading it to others. This is achieved by applying the universal protocol of precaution. The use of adequate equipment, for instance gloves and glasses since these diseases are spread through the mucous membranes is significant. The management of areas or objects that have been in contact with these fluids contribute to the spread and shall be thoroughly cleaned by cleaning employees with proper knowledge using the disinfectants indicated to prevent the spread and dispose of all the aforementioned. It should be noted that it is important for the workers to know to notify the supervisor on duty if there are any suspicions of any type of contact with these fluids which could lead to getting infected.  The worker should visit a healthcare provider and be on the lookout for any symptoms of HBV or HIV. Many of these symptoms appear after a few years of getting infected. For this reason, OSHA recommends keeping records for three years.

In conclusion, we, as cleaning professionals must have knowledge of the universal protocol created by The Centers for Disease Control  and Prevention, and the OSHA Bloodborne Standard  guidelines in order to maintain a high standard when we do our work because it’s the safest way to protect ourselves. The precaution that is taken cause workers to avoid serious illnesses and even death. Therefore, it is very important that the staff who work for a cleaning company have adequate training and knowledge on bloodborne pathogens to comply with all safety guidelines in order to avoid transmission of diseases because safety is our priority.